For the last month, we knew it was coming. But until yesterday, we didn’t know exactly what “it” was. A series of Google Advertisements led to Itscoming.us, a website depicting a shed stranded in the middle of a moonlit field. Scattered throughout the eerily ominous environment were numerous clues hinting at what “it” was…but now, the truth is revealed. “It” is the newly released Zahn series of trenchers by Ditch Witch.

For those of you who, like myself, thought a trencher was only good for making authentic sandwiches, let me clarify. A trencher is a piece of heavy-duty construction machinery that digs trenches. And Ditch Witch, the Oklahoma-based industry leader in underground construction equipment, opted to launch their new line of trenchers virally. Targeted advertisements directed towards people searching for construction equipment ostensibly stumbled across the teaser page and hunted through a haunting environment in search of blueprint fragments to the new product as well as audio, video, and written clues periodically updated. The clues alluded to something hidden within the rickety shed in the middle of the screen…something powerful and awe-inspiring.

It remains to be seen whether Ditch Witch’s campaign succeeded in attracting the audience it desired. But in a market saturated with media and entertainment companies and large corporations attempting to reach as many people as possible, it’s refreshing to find a company using viral strategies to target a narrow audience.